Andoni Iraola may have finally cracked how to get the best out of Florian Wirtz – and in a way, Jamie Carragher was right all along.Wirtz was a whisker away from scoring his first Premier League goal of the season on Sunday when his strike in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton deflected off Pascal Gross.Wirtz appeared to have smashed in the opener for Liverpool, but his shot went off Gross for an own goalGettyThe 17th-minute effort was credited as an own-goal, but it did mark the fourth straight game in which the German was contributing in some way to the scoresheet.Wirtz came into the match on Sunday off the back of recording three goal contributions in his last three games for Liverpool, matching his tally from his previous 14 matches for the club.The Brighton win marked his 50th start for Liverpool in all competitions – only Rayan Cherki (16) has more assists from open play for a Premier League club since the start of last season than the 23-year-old (11).However, the reality is that Wirtz has been questioned for his output since he made his £116million switch to Anfield in 2025.Liverpool’s No.7 was one of only two players, alongside Mohamed Salah, to both score and assist 10 or more goals in each category in Europe’s big five leagues across the last two seasons that preceded his move to Merseyside.Yet it took until after Christmas for Wirtz to open his account in Red, en route to managing just eight Premier League goal contributions during his debut campaign.There was an expectation that Salah’s exit would see him kick on in his second year, but teething issues under Iraola quickly emerged.Wirtz particularly found himself under the microscope following the Reds’ 3-0 loss to Manchester City before the international break.The Germany international lost the ball 16 times in the first half and headed away with his country with just one assist in seven games.Liverpool legend Carragher claimed that Wirtz’s role at No. 10 forced Dominik Szoboszlai into a position that does not suit him, and for that reason, Iraola’s midfield is not one that can function.Wirtz is currently enjoying his best form in a Liverpool shirtGettyAs a result, it was suggested that Wirtz would be the fall guy to drop out of the team as opposed to his Hungarian teammate.Szoboszlai was voted Liverpool’s Player of the Season in 2025/26 and committed his future to the club with a new contract this summer.But injury has restricted him to just 32 minutes across the Reds’ last five matches – which has coincided with Wirtz’s upturn in form.Wirtz stats with and without SzoboszlaiThe warning signs may have been there when Wirtz scored his first Premier League goal in a 2-1 win over Wolves last December – in a game in which Szoboszlai was serving a one-match suspension.The latter’s only other absence from a top-flight game last season came two months later when he was banned against Sunderland.Wirtz has found himself less on the periphery of Premier League games without Szoboszlai in midfieldFlorian Wirtz Premier League (Starts)With Dominik Szoboszlai playing in midfieldWith Dominik Szoboszlai playing in defenceWithout Dominik SzoboszlaiGames2464Minutes1959497310Goals311Assists410Total Shots44810Chances Created52129Passes1219220208Passing Accuracy84.1%82.7%83.7%Liverpool went on to inflict a first Premier League home defeat of the season on Regis Le Bris’ side in a 1-0 victory.The Reds had 23 shots on goal – one of which saw Wirtz hit the post – while the playmaker also earned supporters’ player of the match.The upward trend of Wirtz’s performances in Premier League games without his fellow midfielder has since continued this term.He assisted Victor Munoz’s strike in the comeback win at Brentford, after Szoboszlai was subbed, having reaggravated his hamstring.Iraola has claimed the media are ‘too focused on numbers’ in regard to Wirtz – but right now the numbers aren’t lyingGettyStats from Opta show that Wirtz has had 10 shots, created nine chances and made over 200 passes in the four Premier League matches without Szoboszlai.On average, that means he takes 0.67 more shots per game without Szoboszlai starting alongside him in midfield (an increase of +36.4%).His goal rate doubles from 0.13 (1 every 8 games) to 0.25 (1 every 4 games) and he also creates more chances per match as well.Curiously, Wirtz’s Premier League influence was at its worst on average in fixtures where Szoboszlai started from right-back.Florian Wirtz in Premier League games without Dominik Szoboszlai Liverpool 2-1 Wolves (27/12/25) – Wirtz scores his first Premier League goalSunderland 0-1 Liverpool (11/02/26) – Wirtz voted Liverpool’s Carlsberg Player of the MatchLiverpool 0-3 Manchester City (11/10/26) – Wirtz hooked after 66 minutes as Ryan Gravenberch is sent offLiverpool 2-0 Brighton (25/10/26) – Wirtz’s effort deflects off Pascal Gross to give the Reds the leadCarragher rightly pointed out that a midfield of Wirtz and Szoboszlai can’t function – but recent showings may prove him wrong about which personnel should drop outAFPIan Rush told talkSPORT that people need to be patient with Wirtz, once referred to by Jurgen Klopp as ‘a once-in-a-century talent’.“In a way, he’s seeing things maybe too quickly, and people are maybe not making that run, and he’s holding onto the ball too much. “So I think if I was him, I’d sort of say put the ball in the space and let the striker in – you [the striker] should be in that space.“But I think he’s still got a lot to help with Liverpool.”The question for new Reds head coach Iraola is what that help looks like once Szoboszlai returns from injury…